Milwaukee Bucks hire Larry Drew as coach
The Milwaukee Bucks have hired Larry Drew as head coach to replace Jim Boylan, who took over for Scott Skiles. Dare to be standard!
By
Matt Moore
•
1 min read
It's about the most "Bucks" move the Bucks could make.
Faced with an open head coaching position, did they opt for an exciting young assistant? Or shell out for a major coach with a big name? Did they make a splash or get innovative?
Nope. They hired the guy the Hawks said, "Thanks, but no," to.
As Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported, the Bucks have hired now-former Hawks coach Larry Drew to be their new head coach.
Drew is technically under contract with the Hawks until July 1, but the team had informed him it would be looking elsewhere for next season. Drew was hired before Danny Ferry was brought on board as GM and Ferry has an interest in bringing in his own "guy."
So what does the move mean for the Bucks?
Is it a bad move? No.
It it a good move? Not really, no.
It's fine.
Drew is a tough-minded coach who preaches defense and will hopefully get hold of a locker room that had gotten out of control last season. Drew's offense has been criticized for being unimaginative but after Joe Johnson departed last season, the Hawks took on a different dimension. It almost seems like Drew's teams tend to take on the identity of their players offensively more than anything. So that should work out well considering the Bucks are talking about re-signing Monta Ellis.
... Wait.
But Drew honestly did do a pretty good job in Atlanta, did make the playoffs, did make a run in 2011, and does have the respect of his players. He wasn't what Atlanta wanted, and he wasn't the top option in Milwaukee. But he's fine. He'll do fine.
And that's pretty much Milwaukee's M.O.
Drew had a 128-102 career record in three seasons with Atlanta and was 10-14 in the playoffs.
